Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) liberates detainee Lewelyn Dixon, a green-card holder, from the detention center located in Tacoma.
TACOMA - A Tacoma immigration judge ruled Thursday that longtime green card holder Lewelyn Dixon, whose arrest at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by immigration officials in February garnered national attention, will not face deportation. The 64-year-old lab technician at UW Medical Center, who was held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma after her arrest by Customs and Border Protection officials, was granted relief available to many people who have had a green card for at least five years and have no certain serious crimes.
Dixon had her hearing before Judge Tammy Fitting at the immigration court in the detention center. The government Attorney waived the right to appeal, and the judge ruled in her favor. Dixon, who has been a lawful permanent resident for more than 50 years, expect to return to her job at the UW Medical Center, where she processes blood samples for cancer patients.
"I'm feeling relief, elated, happy," Dixon said right after the hearing, and started to cry. "It was hell," she said of the three months she spent in detention.
Outside the detention center, where a large rally to support Dixon was taking place, someone announced "Auntie Lynn is going home!" The crowd broke out in cheers.
When she finally got out of the detention center, she ran to family members down the street and they all embraced. Dixon said she was eager to get back to her cat and wanted to take a trip to Disneyland.
Dixon's case reflects President Donald Trump's aggressive approach towards immigration enforcement. Immigration officials cited two criminal cases in bringing their case against her. The most serious was a 2001 conviction for embezzling roughly $6,500 from Washington Mutual bank. She had been working as a vault teller there at the time, distributing cash to other tellers, and withdrew money from the vault multiple times. She served no jail or prison time, but was instead ordered to pay back the stolen money and spend 30 days at a residential reentry facility.
Dixon also was charged with theft in 2011. She said at the hearing she had forgotten about a few items under her purse in a cart while shopping at Walmart. She said she was going back to pay for the items, which cost about $27, when she stopped. She agreed to do community service and the charge was dismissed.
Dixon also discussed her future plans if she were to be deported. "I wouldn't know where I would go," she said. She has only distant relatives there, she said, many of them living in a small apartment that couldn't accommodate her. Her late father owned property there, which is the reason she had gone to the Philippines, so she could process complicated paperwork to transfer it into the name of living relatives. But it is farmland unsuitable to live on, she said.
In the courtroom were eight family members, including a niece and grandniece who had flown in from Hawaii and a niece who lives with her in a Pierce County townhome. Several coworkers and two representatives of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco also attended. Government attorney Mark Johnson quizzed Dixon about a few facts related to her criminal history, but was largely uncombative.
- The government's aggressive approach towards immigration enforcement, as seen in the case of Lewelyn Dixon, often includes targeting individuals with certain serious crimes.
- Dixon's case, where she was initially facing potential deportation, is highlighted in the realm of policy-and-legislation and general news due to her lengthy green card status and lack of serious crimes.
- After being granted relief by an immigration judge in Tacoma, Dixon plans to return to her job at UW Medical Center, a move that could be seen as a victory for opponents of Trump's immigration policies.
- In Seattle's general news and politics, the climate around immigration enforcement remains contentious, with debates centered on issues such as Dixon's case, which raises questions about the government's use of criminal history to target immigrants.
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